The inadvertent ignition or explosion of a munition such as a rocket motor could present a severe hazard. The inadvertent firing or ignition could result when high external heat is applied to the munition, for example, when it is surrounded by fire. The present invention is directed to alleviating this problem by destroying the integrity of the pressure vessel of the munition when external heat is applied. For example, in a rocket motor, the structural integrity of the case to nozzle interface is made to fail at a temperature lower than the auto-ignition temperature of the propellant of the rocket. By separating the nozzle from the rocket case, the throat area of the aft opening of the case without the nozzle is increased significantly resulting in a low operating pressure of the rocket motor even if the propellant were to ignite. The thrust of the motor would be very low, and accordingly would no longer present a hazard.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved method and apparatus for destroying the integrity of the pressure vessel of the munition when external heat is applied prior to reaching the firing temperature or auto-ignition temperature of the propellant of the munition.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved method and apparatus for providing an insensitive munition which is simple in implementation, inexpensive, and reliable.